Wilmington Design Adjustment Committee Meeting - February 19, 2025
Wilmington Design Adjustment Committee Meeting — February 19, 2025
The Design Adjustment Committee met on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. to consider the approval of the January 15, 2025 minutes and one old-business item: Vista Verde, a proposed 25-unit single-family courtyard residential development at 5651 Greenville Loop Road (case DAC-12-125). The agenda listed the meeting location as City Council Chambers, Skyline Center, 929 North Front Street, while the minutes list Thalian Hall, 102 North 3rd Street, 2nd floor. All votes were 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 2:54 p.m.
Consent Calendar
- The committee unanimously approved the January 15, 2025 minutes as presented (5-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Chairman Gordon opened the public hearing for the Vista Verde item; no members of the public spoke, and the hearing was closed.
Discussion Items
- Vista Verde request overview: Planning Manager Patrick O'Mahony presented the applicant's request for six design adjustments and a special use permit for a 25-unit single-family courtyard development on roughly five acres zoned R-15. Proposed adjustments included a non-standard local street cross-section with a 33-foot right-of-way instead of the standard 50 feet, sidewalk and plaza only on the east side, a 35.7-degree driveway connection angle instead of the required 90 degrees, street-style asphalt driveway aprons instead of standard concrete aprons, a 20-foot tangent length instead of the minimum 100 feet, a cul-de-sac length of 671.24 feet instead of the 500-foot maximum, and no standard cul-de-sac turnaround.
- Applicant presentation: Chauncey Archer of Brick and Mojo described the proposal as Wilmington's first single-family courtyard-style community, with homes facing a central courtyard, parking and detached garages along the periphery, and an HOA to manage assigned parking and shared spaces. He cited traffic-calming and pedestrian-safety benefits of curved roadways, narrower pavement, and reduced impervious surface. He said the community was set back 220 feet from Greenville Loop Road and that a future road connection to the north was intended.
- Committee discussion and concerns: Committee members questioned parking availability, right-of-way and easement status, sidewalk placement, utility access, emergency vehicle maneuvering, and the long-term impact of reduced street width. Archer clarified that the adjacent property owner retained a private 80-foot easement area and that the applicant could potentially use adjacent land for a temporary turnaround. The applicant agreed to include the required 10-foot non-municipal easement on the east side. Members remained concerned that the 33-foot right-of-way and one-sided sidewalk would not adequately serve future development to the north, and that the proposed curves and driveway angles created maneuverability and public/private delineation issues.
Key Outcomes
- Adjustment 1 (local street cross-section/right-of-way/sidewalk/plaza): Denied 5-0.
- Adjustment 2 (driveway connection angle): Denied 5-0.
- Adjustment 3 (driveway design/street-style asphalt aprons): Denied 5-0.
- Adjustment 4 (tangent length between horizontal curves): Denied 5-0.
- Adjustment 5 (maximum cul-de-sac length): Approved 5-0, citing site constraints.
- Adjustment 6 (standard cul-de-sac turnaround): Conditionally approved 5-0, with the condition that the applicant provide a temporary turnaround meeting city standards.
- Preliminary plan: Denied 5-0, due to the denied waivers and concerns about the proposed public infrastructure. The applicant was informed they could revise and resubmit.
Meeting Transcript
I'll call the uh meeting of the design adjustment committee to order. Before we get started, I have an introduction to read. The design adjustment committee's purpose is to establish clear and measurable review criteria for the consideration of major deviations from the city's technical standards and specifications manual, building design, material standards, and subdivision standards. The design adjustment committee does not consider the housing type, cost of the proposed unit, occupants, building material, unit size, number of bedrooms, or the architectural design of the structures. These hearings are quasi-judicial evidentiary hearings. That means they're like a court hearing, and the committee's decisions are constrained by the standards in the ordinance and based upon the facts presented. All variance requests require a forfeits vote of the committee to grant the variance. Appeals of committee decisions are to superior court. The parties in these cases are entitled to an impartial board. If a board member has a fixed opinion on a matter, financial interest in the outcome, a close relationship with the affected person, or has had any ex parte communication about the matter. Please disclose that information to determine if a recusal is necessary. Staff will introduce the proposed project to the committee, and committee members may ask questions. The applicant may present additional information about the project, and the members may ask questions. If anyone wishes to provide evidence at today's hearing, witnesses must be sworn in at the and sign in at the at the clipboard at the back of the room and be sworn in. Because witnesses are to provide sworn testimony. Please focus on the facts and the standards, not personal preference or opinion. When a witness comes forward to give testimony, please come to the podium, state your name and address to the record, and speak clearly. At this time, staff will administer the oath for any individuals who intend to provide witness testimony. Staff applicants and members of the public who wish to speak, please stand and raise your right hand. Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Thank you. First item on the agenda is uh approval of the previous month's minutes. Has everyone had a chance to review the minutes? And if so. What do we have a motion? I like a motion we accept the minutes. I will second. Any discussion? All in favor approval of the minutes. Say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? No. All right. Minutes are approved. The first item on and only item on the agenda is the Vista Verde. Um is there a staff presentation? Good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the committee. We lose the projector. My apologies. This site uh known as Vista Verde is located at 5651 Greenville Loop Road. It's approximately five acres. Currently zoned R15, moderate density single dwelling district, uh, and it is essentially vacant. Uh the applicant is requesting uh a total of six design adjustments uh this afternoon. Uh I'll briefly list them here and then go into more detail. Um the relief from the minimum standards for a local street cross section, uh, the relief and minimum standards for driveway connections, relief from the minimum standards for driveway design, relief from the minimum standards for the tangent length between horizontal curves, relief from the maximum length of a call-de-sac street, and really from providing a standard turnaround for a call-de-sac street. Um they're noted on your plan here and in your case summary, and uh we did our best we can to try and uh correlate the numbers to the uh adjustments requested here.
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